No, it is not a traditional Russian cake. In fact, the only thing it has russian is the vodka it uses. Actually it is a cake that claims to be the "solid" version of a cocktail called White Russian that is made up of cream, vodka and coffee liqueur. And the White Russian cocktail, guess what, is also not typical of Russia. In fact, in many countries, anything that carries Russian vodka is Russian even if it is made locally.
The white Russian cocktail was one more unimportant until the main character of the film The Great Lebowski of the Cohen brothers, played by Jeff Bridges, began to make them popular by constantly demand them throughout the film.
Although vodka and coffee liqueur are added hot and therefore the alcohol evaporates, it does not always do so completely. You can remove the vodka or replace it with another type of liquor - whiskey, brandy - and the coffee liqueur simply by plain coffee. If you do so then it will will be a cake for all ages.
This cake first appeared in the BBC magazine dedicated to gastronomy in 2017 and since then it has become very popular.
INGREDIENTS
For the base :
300 grams (10 oz) of cookies
50 grams (2 oz) of dark chocolate at 70% minimum
50 grams (2 oz) of butter
For the filling :
400 ml (2 cups) of whipping cream with a minimum of 38% fat
200 grams (7 oz) of white marshmallows
150 ml (3/4 cup) whole milk
100 ml (half a cup) of vodka (or other liquor, or none, to taste)
100 ml (half a cup) of coffee liquor (or simply half a cup of coffee, decaffeinated or not)
100 grams (3.5 oz) of icing sugar
For the "final topping":
1 tablet of 70% dark chocolate (the rest of the 50 grams - 2 oz - we have used in the base)
Nutmeg
Chocolate syrup (optional)
First we will make the base of crushed cookies. To do this in a blender glass we incorporate the broken biscuits, chocolate and butter. We reduce everything to a paste and with it we fill the bottom of a removable base mold (it has to be of this type, not another, or you can not unmold them). With a spoon we press so that the dough is very compact and then we immediately take it to the refrigerator to set.
In a casserole we pour the milk over medium heat and the marshmallows. They must be the type that have no taste (white). In marshmallows half the weight is sugar, so do not stop stirring while melting or sticking to the bottom.
Once the marshmallows have dissolved, remove from heat and stirring, add the "white" liquor (vodka, or whatever) and then the coffee liqueur. Think that although the liquid is hot it is not usually enough for the alcohol to evaporate. If you don't want it drunk, use only coffee. Let cool.
Put the cream in the freezer for 20 minutes. Extract and whipp it with the electric rods. When you have whipped enough and the cream is solid, add the iced sugar and disolve in the cream.
Mix the marshmallows with the whipped cream. You pour the result of the mixture on the basis of cookies. Take it back to the fridge for 2 or 3 hours.
Once you take it out for consumption, first sprinkle some nutmeg. Then chips are removed from the chocolate tablet and placed over the cream / marshmallows. To obtain chips, simply scrape with the knife or use a mandolin. If you want you can put a little chocolate syrup, because maybe it seems that it is need a "little" more (if you are chocoadict).
A superb cake. There is no other way to rate it.
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